Tennis News

Hometown Heroes Hingis & Bencic Hold Court In Biel/Bienne

Children attending the Ladies Open Biel Bienne over the weekend got to get a glimpse of two of their country’s biggest WTA stars, as Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic and Martina Hingis participated in the tournament’s Kids’ Day festivities, organized by Swiss Tennis.

Check out all the best photos of Bencic and Hingis on Biel/Bienne Kids Day right here!

A Peak Behind The Scenes In Bogota

Meanwhile in Bogota, a group of kids from the Colombian children’s charity ICBF got a special treat on Kids’ Day at the Claro Open Colsanitas. They were invited to a tour of the grounds and practice courts, as well as getting the chance to meet some of the areas’ biggest tennis stars.

See more photos from their behind-the-scenes tour right here!

ZHENGZHOU, China – Seventh seed Han Xinyun crashed out of the Biyuan Cup Women’s Tennis Open, falling in straight sets to Kazakhstan’s Zarina Diyas, 6-2, 6-0.

The other seeds had a much easier time of it, though, with fifth seed Zheng Saisai beating Lu Jia-Jing, 6-2, 6-2, and sixth seed Kurumi Nara of Japan defeating Zhu Lin, 6-4, 7-5.

Arina Rodionova and Liu Chang had a titanic tussle, with both sets going to tiebreaks – and the Australian finishing on top in both, eventually triumphing 7-6(2), 7-6(4).

Elsewhere, Uzbekistan’s Sabina Sharipova beat Kang Jiaqi 6-4, 3-6, 6-4, and in an all-Japanese clash Shiho Akita beat Mayo Hibi 6-2, 6-4.

Petra Kvitova had some encouraging news for fans and followers on Monday, as the World No.14 penned an update on her road to recovery on Instagram.

Though it is unclear whether she will be ready to compete, steady progress in her recovery has seen the two-time Wimbledon champion enter the French Open.

“My name will appear on the entry list for Roland Garros tomorrow because, as the entry deadline approached, I had made good progress in my recovery process and I want to give myself every last opportunity to be able to compete at one of my favorite events,” Kvitova wrote.

“This unfortunately does not mean necessarily that I will be ready to play in Paris, but that I’m doing everything possible to give myself the chance and keep a positive mindset.”

Kvitova continues on her road back to tennis following a knife attack in her home last December, and her latest update is welcome news to the tennis community which has shown immense love and support for her across the world in the months since.

Great news! Hope this all goes well https://t.co/mfqgZY9iDA

— victoria azarenka (@vika7) April 17, 2017

In Monday’s post, Kvitova added: “There remains a long road ahead but I wanted to share this update with you. Thanks for your continued support and I hope to see you soon.”

First round action from Paris begins on May 28.